God is still Awesome even if we get too busy to acknowledge it (Psalm 47:1-2)

SCRIPTURE: Psalm 47:1-2 (TM)

Clap your hands, all you people! Shout joyfully to God with a joyous shout! Because the LORD Most High is awesome, he is the great king of the whole world.

STORY:

In 1715 King Louis XIV of France died after a reign of 72 years. He had called himself "the Great," and was the monarch who made the famous statement, "I am the state!" His court was the most magnificent in Europe, and his funeral was equally spectacular. As his body lay in state in a golden coffin, orders were given that the cathedral should be very dimly lit with only a special candle set above his coffin, to dramatize his greatness. At the memorial, thousands waited in hushed silence. Then Bishop Massilon began to speak; slowly reaching down, he snuffed out the candle and said, "Only God is great."

OBSERVATION:

If anyone has worshipped in a church in the last 5 years or so I’m very confident that during that experience the congregation sang: Our God is an awesome God he reigns… From heaven above… With wisdom, power and love… our God is an awesome. I can bet that the tune is starting to run in your head right now, as it is mine.

Truly God is awesome, but do we live a life that bares testimony to that reality?

Let’s just admit a basic reality: We get caught up with the stuff of life as in, working out the Thanksgiving day menu and then running off to do the necessary shopping all the while we are pulling out the Christmas decorations. If God is lucky we might give him our attention for a moment or two. We might even bow our heads and tell him thanks. Yeah, I get it – we are busy folk. When all the festivities are over and the last football game has been played – God will still be awesome. He knows we love him regardless of how much attention we give to him and what he has done.

While God desires our full attention he is willing to take our leftovers… after all, as our thinking goes, the leftovers from the big Thanksgiving dinner are very close, if not even better than the actual meal it self. Leftovers aren’t that bad.

He still loves us no matter how screwy our priorities get during the Halloween to New Years stretch. He patiently waits for us to turn back to him. So, as we make that turn back to God may we join the endless line of splendor and start clapping our hands, raising our voices in a great joy filled shout to our awesome and patient God!

PRAYER:

Yes, God, it is “that” season again. The season of being busy… the season of trying to keep our priorities straight, but getting all of our priorities out of whack… the season of trying to get too much accomplished in too little time. We have one word that expresses our real need – HELP! Please Lord, don’t get lost in all of our merry making!